62 investigations underway involving federally-funded Minnesota child care centers
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS its Office of Inspector General has 62 active investigations into family child care and child care centers in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) across the state.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS looked into some of the child care centers that receive the most of the federal funding available in the CCAP program which is regulated by DHS.
One day care center in Minneapolis, Quality Learning Center Daycare, had 95 violations between 2019 and 2023, according to DHS records. Those violations range from “failure to keep hazardous items away from children” to “no records for 16 children.” In 2022, DHS placed the facility on a conditional license.
But, state records showed Quality Learning Center Daycare still received $7.8 million in federal tax money since 2019 despite its regulatory issues. Its conditional license was removed in 2024.
Another business in Minneapolis, Minnesota Child Care Center had 36 violations between 2021 and 2023—some of them serious. The child care center’s violations included failure to request initial background checks on six staff members in 2023 and failed to request repeat background checks on eight staff members in 2024. Ultimately, the state accepted corrective documentation on the violations.
Minnesota House Speaker Designate, Rep. Lisa Demuth (R) told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS this showed “oversight is incredibly lacking.”
Demuth asked, “Are we keeping kids safe in Minnesota? And, what you have showed me here, brings that very much into question.”
Demuth also said the Legislature needs to take a closer look at the information provided by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
“You have pages here that are publicly available, with repeated failure to keep hazardous items away from children,” said Demuth. “Failure to maintain adequate staff-to-child ratios. Background checks. Failure to keep personnel files. These are repeated violations.”
DHS declined an interview request but issued the following statement:
DHS Licensing monitors licensed child care centers, like Quality Learning Center, Inc., for compliance with licensing or certification requirements, including health and safety standards. This monitoring is conducted during an unannounced annual visit, and the results of the visit, including the type of visit, date of visit, and any violations, are posted to the DHS Licensing Information Lookup site. Licensors and/or Investigators may also visit the program in response to licensing violation or maltreatment allegations.
When it is determined that one or more licensing violations has occurred, a correction order may be issued. The correction order lists citations for the violations and specifies corrective actions the childcare provider must take. Programs are typically ordered to correct the violation immediately. DHS also evaluates the nature, severity, or chronicity of licensing violations and the effect of the violation on the health, safety, and rights of persons served by the program to determine whether a more serious sanction, such as a conditional license, is warranted.
A conditional license requires compliance with special terms for the program to continue to operate. Licensors also conduct additional reviews during the conditional license period to monitor for compliance with the terms of the conditional license, and health and safety standards. If any additional violations are noted, a correction order or more serious sanction may be issued.
Quality Learning Center, Inc.’s license was placed on conditional status for two years, beginning on June 8, 2022. In addition to annual licensing visits, licensors conducted additional licensing reviews to monitor for compliance with the terms of the conditional license and assist the program in elevating their level of compliance with licensing requirements overall. During this time, when one or more licensing violations were found, a correction order was issued, which includes information as to what corrective action the facility needs to take to come into compliance with the violations. DHS continued to evaluate the nature, chronicity, and severity of the additional violations and corrective actions taken by the provider during the 2-year conditional period to determine whether additional licensing sanctions were necessary. It was determined that no action beyond a correction order was warranted at that time, and the program’s conditional license expired on June 7, 2024.
KSTP reached out to the two day care centers by calling the phone numbers listed on their licenses but has not yet heard back.
Information about stopping CCAP payments
Typically, if a provider’s license is active, licensing violations alone would not affect a provider’s ability to receive child care assistance payments (CCAP), except when licensing officials issue an order of suspension, revocation, or decertification to that provider. For example, a provider with a conditional license may receive CCAP if they meet all other registration requirements.
DHS staff work with local agencies to monitor providers’ compliance with CCAP laws, policies and rules. If there are CCAP violations, DHS’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) actions can include providing technical assistance, issuing a child care assistance correction order, assessing an overpayment or terminating a provider from the program.
DHS’s OIG can only act to stop or end a provider’s payments in specific circumstances allowed by state laws, including when a provider intentionally gives false information on its CCAP billing forms or submits false attendance records; a provider is operating after a suspension or revocation of its license; there’s a credible allegation of fraud; and/or a provider refuses access to attendance records. Providers under a payment stop can continue operations and billing, but the CCAP payments are suspended until the basis for the withhold no longer exists.”